Hyderabad: With a sudden jump in the number of COVID-19 cases in Telangana, the state government has come up with more measures to control the pandemic. Ten thousand beds have been prepared for Coronavirus patients, out of which 7,000 are in government medical colleges while the remaining 3,000 beds belong to private medical colleges. In addition, 700 ICU and 190 ventilator beds are ready to treat critical COVID-19 patients.

Sample testing only in government clinicsApart from Gandhi Hospital, the Institute of Preventive Medicine (IPM) and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) will function as government-run testing centres in the state. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekar Rao, during a press meet on Friday, said samples will not be sent to any private testing centres until the numbers go beyond the managing capacity of the government centres. Currently, around 800 samples are tested per day in the state.

Meanwhile, arrangements have been made to convert Gandhi Hospital into a full-fledged COVID-19 hospital. All departments in the hospital will be moved to Osmania General Hospital (OGH) by the end of March. State health minister Eatala Rajender said, “Elective surgeries have already stopped at Gandhi Hospital and patients are being referred to OGH. Shifting of other departments from Gandhi to OGH should be completed by March-end. King Koti hospital should be kept ready to treat Coronavirus patients.”

Ten more cases reported on Friday Ten new Corona-positive cases were reported in Telangana on 27 March. With this, the total number of cases in the state has reached 55. This is the highest number of cases the state has reported so far.

On 26 March, four positive cases were reported, including a doctor couple from Yashoda Hospital in Somajiguda. The 41-year-old husband and his wife, who is 36, live in the Domalguda area of Hyderabad. Apart from the couple, a 45-year-old man from Buddhanagar, Secunderabad, who had travelled to Delhi, also tested positive for Coronavirus on Thursday. The fourth positive case was a 49-year-old man from Qutbullapur of Medchal district who had come into contact with a patient who had travelled from Delhi.

Dheeshma Puzhakkal

Dheeshma Puzhakkal is currently a Reporter with Newsmeter. An alumnus of Hyderabad Central University, she has interned with Greater Kashmir newspaper and NDTV. Dheeshma has also made short films and documentaries. Her documentary ‘Still I Rise’, which is based on sex-trafficking in Hyderabad’s Old City, has earned accolades in several film festivals, such as International Documentary and Short Film Festival, Kerala (IDSFFK). An avid foodie, she loves to travel and listen to stories that others tell. Photography is one of her all-time interests. She has extensively written on satellite-based journalism, health, consumer, and data stories besides covering anti-crime investigative agencies.